A semiconductor light-emitting element, such as a light-emitting diode, is typically fabricated by growing an n-type semiconductor layer, a light-emitting layer, and a p-type semiconductor layer on a growth substrate and by forming an n-electrode and a p-electrode for applying voltages to the n-type semiconductor layer and the p-type semiconductor layer, respectively.
A semiconductor light-emitting element having a structure without a growth substrate, i.e., what is called a bonded structure, in which a p-electrode is formed on a p-type semiconductor layer and then the element is bonded to a support substrate via a bonding layer has been known in the art as a semiconductor light-emitting element designed to improve the heat dissipation performance in the above-described structure.
As one technique for extracting light emitted from a light-emitting layer to the outside in a greater amount, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which a surface of an n-type semiconductor layer that is exposed after the removal of a growth substrate is wet-etched with an alkali solution to form a plurality of protrusions based on the crystal structure of the semiconductor.